Family Ties

Family Ties follows the lives of the Keatons, a close-knit family who, despite their differences, count on each other through good times and bad.

Parents Steven (Michael Gross) and Elyse (Meredith Baxter-Birney) Keaton are former hippies and proud of it. They have been in love from almost the moment they met, and married in 1964. Steven and Elyse joined the Peace Corps immediately after their marriage, and their son Alex (Michael J. Fox) was born the next year while they were in Africa. Soon after, they started attending the University of California, Berkeley, where their second child, Mallory (Justine Bateman) was born in 1967. In 1972, Mallory was followed by Jennifer (Tina Yothers), born on the night President Richard Nixon won a second term of office.

The Keatons now live in the town of Columbus, Ohio. Steven is the station manager for a local public television station called WKS, while Elyse is an independent architect, and both love their jobs. It is the early years of the Reagan administration, and to the horror of his parents Alex has become a Young Republican and ardent supporter of “Reganomics”. Mallory too has a conservative outlook – if she ever thought about it that is; she’s much more interested in shopping and her hair. Jennifer, athletic and active and the baby of the family, is more like her parents. With views at opposite ends of the political spectrum, the Keaton household sees plenty of heated debates.

Elyse later becomes pregnant. The Keatons’ fourth child, Andy (Brian Bonsall) is adored by all the family, but is especially close to Alex. In return Alex bestows both his love and his political views on Andy, managing to mold him into a very, very young Republican!

Photo Courtesy of NBC

Main Cast

Character

Actor

Steven Keaton

Michael Gross

Elyse Keaton

Meredith Baxter-Birney

Alex P. Keaton

Michael J. Fox

Mallory Keaton

Justine Bateman

Jennifer Keaton

Tina Yothers

Andrew Keaton

Brian Bonsall

Photo Courtesy of NBC

Additional Cast

Character

Actor

Years

Skippy Handelman

Marc Price

1982-1989

Nick Moore

Scott Valentine

1985-1989

Ellen Reed

Tracy Pollan

1985-1987

Lauren Miller

Courtney Cox

1987-1989

Gus Thompson

John Hancock

1983-1989

George Bellack

Alan Blumenfeld

1984-1987

Sam

Robert Schanche

1983-1989

Phyllis

Enid Kent

1982-1988

Dr.Schulte

Terry Wills

1983-1989

Carmine

Robert Costanzo

1984-1987

Ted Waterman

John Petlock

1982-1986

Robert Keaton

Norman Parker

1985-1987

Jeff Wakefield

John Dukakis

1983-1984

Mr. Wertz

Ben Piazza

1984-1987

Oscar

David Wohl

1985-1988

Young Steven

Michael David Wright

1984-1988

Party Girl

Wendy Wells-Gunkel

1987

Ned Donnelly

Tom Hanks

1983-1984

Customer #1

Bunny Summers

1983-1985

Neil

John Putch

1982-1986

Bernice

Belita Moreno

1983-1989

Doug

Timothy Busfield

1984-1986

Karen Nicholson

Geena Davis

1984-1986

Customer #2

Denise D’Amico

1985-1989

Bill Channing

Walter Olkewicz

1984-1987

Bellhop

James N. Hamilton

1985-1987

Dr. Skip Williamson

Matthew Faison

1985-1987

Grover Garver

Michael B. Moynahan

1983-1986

Young Elyse

Margaret Marx

1986-1988

Buffaloed Bill

Raymond Singer

1986-1988

Rebecca Ryan

Melinda Culea

1986-1987

Marty Brodie

Jane Adams

1987-1989

Dr. Harrison

Philip Baker Hall

1988

Kate

Priscilla Morrill

1982-1984

Richard Grasso

Sal Viscuso

1982-1984

Carol Mannings

Mary Farrell

1983-1985

Mr. Carlyle

Richard Venture

1983

Mr. Winkler

Philip Sterling

1982-1984

Suzanne Davis

Brooke Alderson

1982-1983

Ron Davis

Jay Tarses

1982-1983

Bill

Sam Whipple

1984

Rachel Miller

Daphne Zuniga

1984

Jackie Jackerman

Rick Podell

1985

Tricia Armstrong

Suzanne Snyder

1985

James Jarrett

Jeffrey Joseph

1984-1985

Photo Courtesy of NBC

Trivia

Michael J. Fox grew up in Canada and when he was fifteen years old he was appeared in a Canadian TV series called Leo and Me. He moved to Los Angeles when he was 18 to pursue his acting.

Three members of the cast and crew of the series of Leo and Me, as well as Fox himself, have developed Parkinson’s disease in mid-life. Because of the unusually high incidence in a single group there has been some investigation into whether environmental factors played a part.

Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan said that Family Ties was his favorite show in the 1980’s.

Although he appeared in a number of other television productions and films, Brian Bonsall (Andrew) decided to retire from acting in 1995.

Tracy Pollan’s (Ellen Reed) best friend in real-life is actress Jennifer Grey. They attended the same school as teenagers.

Marc Price was childhood friends with Crispin Glover, who guest-starred on Family Ties.

The last episodes with Michael J. Fox (Alex) on the series Spin City were filled with references to Family Ties.

Both Michael Gross (Steven Keaton) and Meredith Baxter (Elyse Keaton) had guest spots on Spin City, Gross as a therapist to Fox’s character and Baxter once again playing his mother. They also use the name Mallory in reference to an off-screen character, as well as the name of Alex P. Keaton.

Meredith Baxter (she dropped the Birney years before after her divorce from David Birney) was actually pregnant in real-life so the pregnancy was simply written into the script. Instead of a boy, as on the show, she actually gave birth to twins.

Photo Courtesy of NBC

Crispin Glover, who played a friend of Alex P. Keaton on the show, worked with Michael J. Fox again only a year later but not on Family Ties. Instead he played the father of Michael J. Fox’s character, Marty McFly, in the popular Back To The Future trilogy.

Justine Bateman (Mallory) is married to Mark Fluent and has two children, a son, Duke, and a daughter, Gianetta.

Michael Gross is a passionate rail fan. He is a modeler, photographer, and part-owner of a working railroad, The Santé Fe Southern Railway.

Meredith Baxter is a breast cancer survivor. She has also created her own skin-care line called Meredith Baxter Simple Works, which raises money for her breast cancer research foundation.